Inside Late Night with Mark Malkoff - Inside Late Night: Aparna Nancherla

Episode Date: December 9, 2025

This week on LateNighter's Inside Late Night podcast, standup comic and former Late Night with Seth Meyers writer Aparna Nancherla joins Mark Malkoff to talk about her career and her new special Hopeful Potato, available next week on DropoutMake sure to follow us on social media (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@latenightercom⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠) and subscribe on all podcast platforms and YouTube ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@latenightercom⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to never miss an episode!

From late-nighter.com, it's Inside Late Night with Mark Malkoff. Hello, everybody, John Schneider, back here from Late Nighter to welcome you to another episode of Inside Late Night with Mark Malkoff, where today Mark will be speaking to Aparna Nanshirla, who has a fantastic comedy special coming out next week on Dropout, and that would be hopeful potato. She is so excited for the special and to release it to you all, and today she discusses it with Mark, so I hope you enjoy this conversation. Apana, nice to see you. Hi, how's it going? Doing well. I'm excited to talk to. I wanted to ask because I wanted, first of all, I'm excited to talk about your new stand-up special, but I wanted to ask, since anxiety is kind of a theme you've written books, you've wrote a book about it, you've talked about it on stage. When you first got your writing job at Seth Myers, what was that anxiety level like? Did it ever go away? Did you feel that a lot?

Yeah, I mean, I would say I am just my default setting is pretty anxious. So then if you put me in a situation where it would be, you know, normal to have anxiety, mine is triple fold, tenfold as to a normal person's. Yeah, like I get, not normal, but, you know, a non-anxious person's. I think I, that job happens so kind of out of the blue. And, you know, I came in a mid-season, you know, it wasn't like with a crop of other new writers. So I think I just was very in my head that first day. And I would argue the whole time I was there.

How do you get hired? I know how you got hired. We'll talk about Kumau Bell, but how did you get hired at Seth? Did you do a packet? Or was it based on your stand-up? I did a packet originally when the show first came out. and then I don't think I, well, obviously I didn't get hired then, but then I believe the, it was like the next cycle,

or maybe two cycles later. I think they called me in for an interview. So they had a packet on file at some point, but I didn't do like another one. Yeah. What was the experience like from you writing previously for Totally Biased? It was, I mean, that was actually my first comedy writing job period. So I was new to writers' rooms.

I was new to late night. I was new to all of it. So I was, I mean, so excited to be there. But that was also a mid-season thing. I was hired mid-season. And so, yeah, I guess I just have mostly had jobs where I kind of come in and everyone else knows what they're doing a little bit. And I'm kind of like, okay, hi.

help me. I'm so happy to be here, but I also, I'm a little in over my head. You did a packet there and you didn't get it and then you resubmitted halfway through the season. Then you did get it, correct? I believe that's correct. You're remembering my life better than me. I do some research here and there. Good. I'm like, thank you. I needed that. I needed that information fed back to me. But yes, I believe it was similar as with Seth, where I have. I had done a packet and then, you know, wasn't in that first round. But knew, you know, I had a lot of friends on the staff. So I think that always helps, you know, when people can vouch for you and be like, yeah.

What was Chris Rock's involvement like as executive producer? He was, I mean, I think it was a big thing for him to kind of, he was a champion of the Camau in the show early on. And we would see him definitely on take. days and you know every now and again he would just like kind of breeze through the office and and share some thoughts but you know he's chris rock he has he has his own energy around him i remember when this made news and i'd never talked to anyone that was in the room but you were quoted in a newspaper article when chris rock was at ucb trying out new material it was all like new material night and there were somebody had a cell phone and rick chris rock asked them

politely to put it away. And then somebody else had it. And then within like a minute or two, Chris Rock just left. And people thought it was a joke that he was going to come back, but he didn't. What was that like being in the room when that happened? What stands out? What do you remember? Because it was a big, big deal when it became news. Yeah. I mean, it was surreal. I was hosting the show. So I was like, this is my nightmare. I obviously the audience was thrilled out of their skulls that Chris Rock was doing a drop-in and then within a minute he was no longer doing a drop-in. So I think I the thing that's wonderful about live performance is whatever happens, even if it's something as crushing as that, the audience, you know, in the end feels like they were part of something. They were part of a moment.

They were there when it happened. Yeah. So I think in the end, it became like a night where we all bonded over this very strange set of events. And people had a good time with the other comedians. I think they were sort of like, oh my gosh, can you believe that we just all saw that? So I think in the end it was a very comedy, you know, UCB comedy diehard crowd. So they weren't going to be like, well, we're all leaving. Like, who cares it now?

But yeah, in the moment, I was definitely like, this is never going to happen to me again. And I am not sure I wanted it to ever happen to me. And the audience didn't turn on the person that was asked not to bring out their phone. I think they let themselves out. Oh, that was smart. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think they were like, you know what?

Probably not going to stay for the rest of the show. What was I like being on the very first episode of After. midnight with Taylor Tomlson. Oh my gosh. You're on show number one. Yeah, I forgot that I was on the first show. I, um, yeah, Mark, I'm not gonna, I'm, I listened to your interview with Joe Firestone and she said she has a bad memory, but I'm gonna top her for that. But yeah, the first, I think, I mean, I don't know. I don't know if you've ever been at the premiere of something or on a first of something, but it does, you do feel like,

oh no, I'm setting the tone. It's like when you're the first standup on a lineup, like I always feel like nobody wants to be first because they always call it taking the bullet because you're the one who's kind of the first guinea pig out for the audience to be like, how do we feel about this whole show in general? But it was lovely.

I mean, I think they had done some test shows. I think the other panelists were Kurt Bronler and Whitney Cummings. and they were, like, lovely to be panelists with. And I think the audience was also just so excited that was the first show. So I think the energy carried it. And I feel like that was the case with all the times I appeared on the show where, like, the audience was so happy to be there.

The crew was so nice and, like, so welcoming every time. And, like, thank you for doing our show again. And it's just like, as a guest on something, you're like, this is, this is as good as it gets. Yeah, it's a good group of people for sure. Was the first late night show that you did stand up? Was that Conan? And how did that come about? J.P. Buck was booking the show for TBS.

Yeah, and I think I had just done just for laps in Montreal. So I think I had also had a tape that was kind of similar to that set. And yeah, I think it just kind of clicked in that that happened. And then I don't know if it's unusual for people to kind of. of maybe do late night right after Montreal or that comedy festival. It does feel like at one point, I don't know if it's still the case, but it was sort of like your comedy debut into the world. So I think one parlayed into the other.

But yeah, I mean, I grew up watching Conan and he was like my idol. So I think it was really quite lovely to have that be the first late night spot I did. What do you find more anxiety going on a show like Honan and doing stand-up or writing for a show like Seth Myers? Good question. I mean, the nice thing about anxiety is it sort of molds itself to whatever situation you need it to. So it's like, you know, I would say my writing room anxiety is kind of a different strain than my, it's like, you know, Omicron versus Delta not to bring up COVID. I know we all love to think about that time. But yeah, I would say the beautiful thing about my anxiety is it just sort of molds to what it needs, how it needs to show up of like, no matter what the situation is, I'm going to find a way to make this unpleasant for you.

I think a lot of people, especially with the book that you put out, I think it's helped a lot of people, an unreliable narrator, because so many people can relate to that, especially somebody that's very successful as yourself, that they can see somebody that even at your success level is going through this and is able to get through it. I mean, I would say, in just talking to other performers, and I mean, I would say I have a level of self-doubt that's pretty high, but I, I think most people I respect to our creators all have sort of a very big pushpole between like wanting to put stuff out in the world and then being like, who am I? What do I even have to say? Like, I'm a piece of crap. When you were at Amherst, you were the chief editor of the hamster. Did you have aspirations then even to write comedy when you were doing that in college at the hamster?

I think that was the first time. I thought, oh, maybe there is a path forward here because before that, I really, yeah, before college and I really thought of stand up and entertainment as kind of like the circus. Like you had to be like from a family of performers and it was like passed down as a trade. And I didn't know like what the access point was. I mean, this was pre YouTube and pre, you know, Instagram reels. So there wasn't really a way to maybe find an audience other than starting to just hit, hit the open mics. Do you have it open mics for like four years I read in an interview?

Is that true? That's very rare for somebody of your level to do it for that long. Was that was that a conscious thing that you just really wanted to wait and develop before you got in front of a regular audience? Well, I think, I mean, I think what it is is that I started comedy in D.C. and the stand-up scene there. And I feel like their open mics and shows were a little interchangeable in that I think the open mics in D.C. aren't like an open mic in New York and L.A. where it's mainly just other comedians.

It would be like a show with an actual audience. Oh, that's great. Okay. That makes more sense. I was watching you on Colbert and it was a great set. But I wanted to know when Stephen Colbert introduced you, was he actually in the studio? Because at one point that he wasn't there, they would film him, do the intro. and it looked like he was there, but he wasn't.

Yeah, that's right. That's right. You are on to something there. No, the set I did for Colbert was like when he was kind of shooting a bunch of stand-ups kind of in showcase style and then they would slot them in as needed to the show. But yeah, he wasn't there for when I taped my set. What was that like I'm doing the show, doing Colbert's show? I mean, obviously he wasn't there, but what was that experience like for you?

That was interesting because I think, of the other late night sets I had done where it's like you're kind of part of the the evenings events and it's like you're at the end of all the guests or whatever it is. Like it feels like that show taping energy versus this felt a little bit different in that. It almost felt more like when I had done a set for like a Comedy Central show or something like Meltdown with Jonah and Camille or something where it's like showcase style and you each go up and do your set. but it felt a little bit different than the traditional late night show model

of doing a stand-up set. When you did some episodes of Crash and Pete Holmes as a show on HBO, do you audition for these things typically or did they just give it to you? Because everyone knows who you are. Did you audition for something like that? I did audition.

And I think that role, I feel like, was interesting because it did feel like it was so close to, you know, it's a show about stage. stand-ups in New York. And I feel like it was for a female woman of color stand-up, presumably South Asian, and the character's name was Anaya. So I was like, it feels a little bit like maybe I was thought of when they brought me in. So I think that always helps where you're like, they maybe want to see me in this role.

It's not quite a leap to be like, can she do it? Can she like transform herself Monsters Ball style into this character? What did you think of the accuracy of the show? I mean, I was a door guy back in the day at the Boston Comedy Club. So the fact that they recreated that entire club is unbelievable to me. I know it was before your time, but it was fun to watch that show.

Did that match the show, kind of match your experience of stand-up? Could you relate to it at all? Well, I think for me, it was some of it was a little bit before my time because I think Pete is a little bit ahead of me. and kind of entered New York at a different time in the comedy world. And yeah, I didn't remember the Boston Comedy Club.

I never barked people. I think if I had to be like, I know, I know. It was miserable. I don't think I would have made it if that had been my way in because I'm like, I do not have that skill set. And I don't know if I have that. I don't know. I mean, I have hustle in a different way, but it's definitely not the like I'm just

going to keep showing up. and bothering people that's not, yeah, I would rather crawl into a cave and be like, I'll just do comedy for the stalactites. What are some takeaways that you learn from writing for Seth Meyer show from Seth as a leader and a boss? Yeah, I mean, he's, I think because he, was he head writer at SNL for a while? Yeah, he was. Yeah, he was head writer for a while.

Because he comes from that writer mindset in a lot of ways. and he was a correspondent. He is kind of the best of both where he knows how to perform, but he also understands writers. He understands what it is to be a writer. So I think he just is so good at bridging that line. Because I know some, I don't know, you know, I can't speak to other late night hosts,

but I know some of them are a little bit more removed from the writer's room or maybe not quite as chummy with their writers. And I think him being able to have that, intimacy or camaraderie with them really makes that place like such a welcoming atmosphere for writers. And yeah, and I think he's just genuinely a good guy. I know that's thrown around a lot, but I would say, in all my experiences of him, I would, I would say that's true. Other than your, oh, sorry.

Oh, no, no, just, yeah. Other than your first day or last day, what was your favorite day at Seth Myers' show working there? there is one. I mean, there was, I wasn't there a terribly long time, but I did, I think I did do a sketch that they made called the, I think it was like the crew, like I pitched like a fireman's calendar, but for the crew. And, and so I think when they shot that, that was, I was really excited to get to see that come together. You're, I was watching your special. You're, I was watching your It was really great, the one that the Gary Marshall Theater, Hopeful Potato. How long did that take you to put together?

And this is for dropout and everyone should get check it out. It was fun watching the behind the scenes and everything. How long did it take you to put together? I worked on that material for, I would say, upwards of two years. Because when I was working on that book, the book about self-doubt, I took a break from stand-up. I took a step back. I think it was just a little bit too petty. to kind of try to write about your inner demons and like why you're not qualified to do anything

and then try to write a book and do stand up all the same time, which are two things that already make you feel like you don't know what you're doing a lot of the time. So after the book came out, I came back to stand up. And this special is kind of a culmination of the hour I've worked on since the break. How long did you not do stand up for around how long was your absence? I mean, the pandemic kind of fell in there, weirdly enough. So I maybe did a few odd Zoom shows. But for the most part, I would say I did not do any traditional stand-up for just under three years. How long did it take, would you say, to feel back that you had your voice and you felt back again?

Did it not take long? Did it take a little bit of time? It took a little bit of time, but I kind of entered in a different way than I had before, which is that I started putting together workout shows, whereas before I had always just built material by doing spots around town and like 10 to 15 minute sets. But this time around, I was a little bit more intentional where I put together shows where I was just trying to get to 45 minutes to an hour. And I think that really helped build my confidence of like, oh, you can kind of just mess around in front of an audience and that's okay.

Like I think I didn't really feel like I gave myself that permission before of, you know, asking an audience to spend a whole show with me trying to figure material out in real time. Is it hard? I'm guessing this happens. Tell me if this happens or not. Sometimes at your shows afterwards, people are waiting out for you because they, they can relate to unreliable narrator and you've talked about you've been open with anxiety and maybe some depression. I'm guessing a lot of people are thanking you for talking about this and they've helped you. You've helped them out. Do you get a lot of people like that that come to

your shows? Yeah, but I would say the funny thing is I have, I think I've cultivated very fortunately a fan base that is kind of as maybe reticent as I am. So they're always like, oh, I don't want to intrude. I don't want to bother you. I know you hate that. And so they're very like respectful. And they'll either just be like, I really like what you do. And then kind of like immediately flee or just not, you know, not bother me at all.

And just kind of smile from a distance. I'm like, well, this is this is the world you've wanted to. make for yourself. So I, I feel lucky for that. For the special that I watched, how many performances did you do with the Gary Marshall and then edit down? Just two. So it was one night, two shows, early and a late show. And can you explain Hopeful Potato for the audience? Yeah, so Hopeful Potato is a line from one of the bits in there, but it is about how when, you know, people are taking a group photo and then you don't really know any of the people so you agree to take the photo for them but then they ask you to be in one of the pictures and then later someone's looking at it and

they don't know who you are or why you were in there and that's sort of when you're the hopeful potato how did your book um the one that came out in um two thousand twenty three with viking with penguin random house how did that come about did you write a book proposal did um you the publisher come to you Were they a fan of your stand-up? How did that come about? Yeah, I think they had expressed interest in if I did want to write a book. And then I had a general idea of sort of this self-doubt theme. And I think what I did was I wrote one essay and then an outline.

So that was kind of my proposal. And that was shopped around. And then, yeah, and then Viking kind of seemed like the way to go. But yeah, I think maybe I originally landed on their map. because I was big on Twitter at the time and had kind of built up a big audience that way. And so, yeah, I think that got me some interest in maybe parlaying that into a book. Who were some of the early people in D.C. that you were opening up for the people that you got to know in the comedy community. I think Maria Bamford was one of them, correct?

She was someone I got to open for early on. And yeah, I think that felt very fortunate. And obviously Marie is one of the, if not the most incredible comedian in the world. So I think just getting to know her and work with her and she's also one of the most humble and like accessible people you might meet. So I think that always, when you work with someone you respect that much and they turn out to be lovely, like I think that just also adds encouragement as a young comedian and to kind of keep plotting onward. and I think Paul of Tompkins was another one who I got to work with early on that I was like,

this is surreal and Eugene Merman, just like a lot of acts that I guess are considered alt, but I just, to me, they're like the utmost examples of what comedy can be. And then your debut album, which was 2016, just putting it out there with Tignitaro on her record label. Did you know her previously or was you just a fan of yours? How did that come about? We had cross paths in L.A. We had been maybe on some shows together. And then I got the chance to open for her when she was in New York for the New York Comedy Festival.

And I think that's when we kind of reconnected. And I opened for her maybe a couple more times. And yeah, and then she floated the idea of like had I ever thought about releasing an album because she was starting this sublabel. And yeah, so she kind of planted the idea in my head. And I am very thankful to her for it because I think I had never even considered the idea of doing an album, even though I know that's what you should do as a comedian. But I think I was just like, I don't know.

You did an AMA. I think it was like nine years ago when you said that you were once heckled for having adult braces. do you still get heckled ever? Does that happen? I can't imagine at your level that that will happen sometimes still. Yeah, I would say because of my style of comedy and again, like the fans I attract, I do not get heckled a lot. If it has happened, it will be maybe at a bar show where someone's just a little too excited or wants to be a part of the show, but nothing too wild. How do you edit your material? What is your process for? when you're doing stand-up and writing a special or anything like this?

I am pretty, I come at it very much from a writerly angle in that I will write out the whole joke sometimes and then as I'm working it out on stage, I'll just tweak little parts of it until I get the wording exactly right, but I'm pretty, like once I get it down, the wording the stay is pretty exact. So it's really just like I start with one version and then I just keep editing it until I get it to the version I want it to be. Are there any comedians that you watch getting ready for this special? Anybody that you watch to get inspiration from or not really? I think I fall on the end of the spectrum of not wanting to watch too much because I don't want to accidentally, you know, steal someone's.

That can happen. Yeah. And I, yeah, with my memory, I'm just like, I don't trust myself too. But, but, yeah, I guess sometimes maybe I'll watch someone so, so unlike me just to get a, yeah, see, like, can some of this trickle over to me? Because I would love even a drop of this person. You mentioned in your AMA that your favorite Seth Meyer's joke was about the Pope. Do you remember it? If not, I can help you.

was a visual gag. It was just like the Pope is coming to town and obviously he's going to stop by, the first thing he's going to do is stop by his favorite restaurant and then it was just a Popeyes logo, which if you look at the word, looks like it says Pope yes. Popeyes. Yeah. So then, yeah, so then Seth says his favorite restaurant, Pope yes. When you were with Seth at late night, was there anybody, I guess that you went backstage to meet that you really wanted to meet? that you said hi to? Do you not really do that too much? No, I think I was just like, I can't, I can't bother these people.

I think I also project my anxiety onto other people and assume everyone else is always, also always freaking out all the time. So I am like, let's let's let's let all of us freak out in peace and leave each other. I did see that you also went on James Corden. What was that experience like going? on the late show. Yeah, that,

I see, I'm not remembering that one as well, but I do, I do appreciate that. I know, I do remember him kind of hearing him laugh

during my set. And that's always like, very comforting to hear the host laugh because you're like, even if it's fake, because they have to do this all the time,

it still makes you feel good. Like I think as a stand-up and maybe just a performer in general, even the tiniest bit of validation. We will slurp up like a... Absolutely. Fake crew laughter. I'll take it. Oh my God. Crew laughter is maybe more validating than anything else in the world. Yes. That's very, very cool. Were you looking to do a new special

with Hopeful Potato where to drop out the label come to you and ask if you would do a special? Or were you already looking to do your own special? Yeah, I was looking to do one. And I know they've been trying to branch out into doing more comedy special. So it felt like a good pairing. I know kind of their audience is very loyal and, um, and they're doing just kind of cool and different stuff. So it felt like a good fit for me.

And was that a conscious decision that you wanted to kind of like do behind the scenes that you knew you wanted to do that going in? You have like, kind of, it's like eight minutes or 10 minutes of kind of. Oh, they do that for all their specials. So I think, Oh, that's great. That's wonderful.

I love that. That was fantastic. Yeah. I thought it was such a good idea to do that because it, I don't know, behind the scenes always makes you feel like you understand a little bit more about what you just saw. Yes, that's very, very cool. How much material didn't make it in terms of what you did at the Gary Marshall, which you might have taken out? Did you take out anything? I didn't take much out from the actual taping.

I would say when I was trying to figure out the set, there was like maybe chum. that didn't feel like they were ready or just didn't feel like they fit into the flow of the hours. So yeah, maybe like 10, 10-ish minutes that that didn't go in in the end. It's a really tight special. It's really, really funny. If you had to come up with a Mount Rushmore of stand-up comedians, who your favorite, who would you put on Mount Rushmore? Oh, my gosh. Of stand-ups. That's tough. I, there's just so many. And I also feel like, I always, I have a little bit of goldfish memory in that, well, the last person I see who like really tickles me, I'll be like, oh, they're, they're amazing. And then I'll forget,

I'll forget them in a week. And I got that for someone else. But obviously Maria Bampford would be on there. I, yeah, I mean, yeah, let me just stick on the first people I open for, Eugene Merman, Paul of Tompkins. Sure. Yeah, there's just so, there's so many in the thing that's wonderful about stand-up is like, I feel like I will, it's just like one person's turn of phrase,

I will just like delight over for like months. You know, it's almost like to me, the lovely thing is like you can't really pick one person and be like, well, they're the epitome of stand-up because I just feel like it's such a malleable craft. And everyone, the way they find into it and the way they bring themselves to it. Like each, yeah, not to be sappy, but like each person is like such a special little

unicorn. The way that you're wired, are you already thinking in your head, I need new material? I did this special. It's going to come out. Or can you enjoy the fact that you've created something that's going to be out now and you don't feel pressure for new material and what's next? Can you kind of just be present and enjoy it? No, I don't think I have the gene.

I don't have the gene to be present and I don't have the gene to enjoy it. Yeah, I don't know if it's like with a lot of creation stuff, like once you make it and when it's finally out in the world, like there's such a gap of time a lot of the time that you like are kind of already over it or like past it onto the next thing. I do feel like because this hour was the culmination of what I had done since my break, going forward, I am kind of looking to do something a little more intentional and like build it. Maybe more in the way that the UK model or like the Australian model of like building a cohesive show around a theme and kind of sticking to that theme more than just maybe putting together 60 minutes of various bits. What was harder writing your book or doing a special in terms of effort and in terms of being overwhelmed? I think stand up because it's just something I am more familiar with and I've done longer was definitely more manageable than writing a book.

Writing a book, like many people say, was one the hardest things I've ever done. Oh, I just did one, yeah. It was extremely hard four years and I'm still feeling it. Yes, it's so hard. Hard in a way that, I mean, obviously we didn't, you were writing a book about, you know, Johnny Carson and writing a personal book. So obviously not exactly the same territory, but I just think there's so many, you're in your head and with your own thoughts for so long. It's a lot. It's a lot. Yes. Yeah. Well, I wish you the best with your special. Thank you for doing this.

and Aparno. It was so much fun watching all of your appearances and just everything that you've done and very prolific. And I can't wait to see what's next. So thank you so much. Thanks for having me. I really appreciate it. This was fun. Thanks for listening. Please subscribe so you never miss an episode on Apple Podcast. Please rate it and leave a review. Be sure to go to latenighter.com for all your late night TV news. And you can find my podcast at latenighter.com. forward slash podcasts. Have a wonderful week, and I'll see you next Tuesday.